


The End Of The World (Isn't So Bad)

by casesandcapitals



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Apocalypse, Death of an OC, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mentions of attempted rape, Religion, Teenage Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 19:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casesandcapitals/pseuds/casesandcapitals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day there were 7 billion people on planet Earth, and the next, almost all of them vanished.<br/>No bodies, no empty piles of clothes, no nothing. Just -poof- gone.<br/>But life after the end of the world isn't so bad. Gerard has his brother, his friends, and his boyfriend. They have pretty much everything they need and can go where ever they want.<br/>The apocalypse isn't so bad, you know?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End Of The World (Isn't So Bad)

Their last car had quit on them two days ago, and the new one didn't feel like it was going to last too much longer.  
Bob squinted at the wrinkled old map spread out on his knees.  
"Next exit has a car dealership," he reported.  
"Nice," grinned Frank from the backseat. "Let's get one of those fancy ones with the heated seats and sun roof and shit."  
"Why would you want heated seats?" asked Ray, peering at him in the rearview mirror. "We're in the south."  
"'Cause it's fancy, I dunno," Frank muttered, shrugging.  
"Maybe we'll find one with the DVD player installed," Mikey added, looking out the window at the abandoned cars they passed.  
"Yeah, something to keep Frank entertained," Bob chuckled.  
"Shut up, asshole, I'm not a little kid," Frank retorted, reaching forward to smack the back of Bob's blond head.  
"Don't make me come back there," Bob warned playfully.  
"Settle down kids," Ray said, "We're almost to Grandma's."  
Bob rolled his eyes then went back to studying the map. Frank stuck his tongue out at Ray in the mirror then turned to crawl into the very back.  
Gerard was curled up behind the backseat in the open truck area, scribbling in his journal.  
"Hey, Gee," Frank grinned, tumbling to the floor of the moving vehicle.  
"Hey, Frankie," Gerard responded, glancing up long enough to make sure Frank didn't hurt himself.  
"Any pictures today?" Frank asked, lifting his chin up to try and peer into the journal.  
"Nah, just the regular shit," Gerard told him, not bothering to tilt the book up and hide the pages.

_September 18th, 2017  
On the road still, just outside of Dallas if Bob's right. Searching for a new car, hopefully one that lasts longer than the last few. Mikey's been quiet, not sure why. My pencil is almost too short to write with, I'll have to pick up some more the next time we stop. Frank mentioned wanting to see Disney Land last night before we fell asleep. I think it might be cool to check out, especially since it would be rusted and ruined now. I might try to talk Ray into heading towards Florida soon. It's not like we're really going anywhere anyway.  
No survivors spotted today.  
-Gerard_

"So, what do you think," Frank asked. "DVD player or heated seats?"  
"DVD player for sure," Gerard smiled, shutting his journal with a snap. "We've had that binder full of DVDs with us forever and I can't remember the last time we actually watched one."  
"I think it was Aladdin at that dude's place in Sacramento, remember? 'Cause he had those two kids that were driving him up the wall."  
Gerard smiled, remembering. "Oh yeah, he had those chickens in the back yard too, remember?"  
"How could I forget? Fucking omelets for breakfast," Frank sighed, his eyes slipping shut at the memory.  
"I can still taste them," Gerard added softly.  
"Oh yeah?" Frank peeked open an eye. "Are they good?"  
"Mhmm."  
"I wanna taste 'em."  
Frank crawled into Gerard's lap and pressed their lips together. The kiss barely lasted five seconds before Frank's tongue was in Gerard's mouth.  
"Hey!" called Bob from the front. "Just because we changed cars doesn't mean the No Groping rule doesn't still apply."  
Frank broke away from the kiss. "You ruin all my fun!"  
"Alright guys, look sharp," Ray cut in. "Exit's coming up."  
The green sign was faded and starting to chip at the edges, but the words and numbers were still readable. As Ray turned off the highway, Frank reached into the backseat to grab his bat. Mikey started checking over his little black handgun. Gerard gripped his switchblade.  
"Car dealership first," Bob listed. "Then clothes, food, pharmacy if we can find one, then extra shit if we have time. Who needs what?"  
"Pencils," Gerard said.  
"Hair dye," Frank said, grinning.  
"Books," Mikey added.  
They all fell silent as a small city appeared before them.  
Reciting their scavenging plans was basically just routine at this point. They all knew what they needed to grab and knew they had to do it quick, just incase trouble found them.  
The last dozen or so times they had stopped in a city or town had gone without event, but they never got careless or complacent. It only took one screw up for someone to get hurt and even though Ray had read every medical book he could get his hands on, they still avoided injuries as best they could.  
Everyone kept their eyes peeled as they drove through the abandoned streets. No cars had been cleared off the road, and even though it made driving difficult, it was a good sign. It meant that no one was here to clear them away.  
The car dealership was easy to find, the huge towering sign still standing and visible from the main road. They turned into the lot and slowly drove up and down the aisles of cars until Bob spotted one he thought looked good.  
Ray hit the brakes and Bob and Gerard both got out. They checked the small van over. None of the windows were broken, all the tires were still inflated.  
"Alright, you guys go get the keys, we'll wait here," Bob said.  
Ray nodded and they pulled away, leaving Bob and Gerard standing guard over their new car. Bob started peeling the old stickers off while Gerard looked through the dirty windows.  
"No DVD player," he reported.  
Bob chuckled.  
Ray, Frank, and Mikey were back in less than five minutes. Ray took the keys and started unlocking the doors. He turned the engine over to make sure it worked, and it did. The boys all smiled at each other before quickly getting to business.  
Ray turned the car off and helped Bob start siphoning the gas from their last ride into the new one. Mikey was busy transferring blankets and pillows. Gerard and Frank started packing up their new car with the boxes of supplies.  
The transfer would have taken them 45 minutes when they first started, but now they were all piled in and ready to go in under fifteen.  
They pulled out of the dealership lot and got back on the road.  
"Clothes next," Bob recited.  
"I saw a Kohl's a little ways back," Frank said.  
They found it quickly, parking in the empty lot by the front doors and locking the car behind them.  
"Gerard and Frank; socks, underwear, pajamas," Bob said. "Ray and Mikey; jeans and shirts. I'm gonna hit the bedding section for new pillow cases and blankets. Got it?"  
Everyone nodded, redoubling their grip on their weapons.  
"Back here in 15," Bob said in a serious tone.  
They headed into the dark department store and grabbed carts.  
Gerard and Frank immediately broke away from the group and jogged to the center of the store, locating the men's section quickly. Frank went for socks and underwear while Gerard scoured the racks for pajamas that would fit everyone.  
After months and months of doing this, they all had each other's sizes memorized.  
Frank tipped an armload of white cotton into the cart just as Gerard threw in the last pair of pajama pants. They gripped the cart together, side by side, and jogged back up to the front doors.  
It didn't take them long to load up their goods in the trunk of the new car. Frank pushed the empty cart away from him and watched it race across the lot before hitting a crack in the pavement and toppling over.  
Ray and Mikey appeared next, their cart full of denim and t-shirts. Mikey had snagged a hoodie for everyone too. Bob was right on their tail a moment later, cart full of plastic-wrapped linens.  
They packed up quickly, working as a team, then jumped back in the car.  
"Anything?" Bob asked as they got back on the main road.  
"Nothing," Frank reported.  
"Nothing," Ray said.  
"Me neither," said Bob. "Alright, food next."  
Gerard usually didn't think about their reports until nightfall when he was curled up next to Frank and trying to sleep. He tried not to let the thought that they hadn't seen another person alive or dead in over two months interfere with their scavenging. He needed to stay focused.  
Mikey pulled their white painter's masks out of a box when they found a supermarket. Everyone covered their mouths and noses before they pushed open the glass doors and headed inside.  
The smell of rotting food wasn't as severe as it would have been a month or two ago, in the height of summer, but it was still enough to make Gerard squint his eyes against the stench.  
Bob didn't need to hand out assignments this time, everyone knew their role; grab whatever you can.  
"Check the expiration dates!" Ray called after them as they all split up.  
Frank scoffed loud enough to be heard behind his mask. After the Clam Chowder Debacle of last February, he always made sure to check the dates.  
Gerard grabbed a shopping cart and rushed down a random aisle. He grabbed peanut butter and a few preserves that were still good. Chips and crackers were next. He avoided the bread aisle, like everyone else. They called it The Mold Aisle now, and he didn't want to get any spores on his clothes.  
After a quick turn he found himself in an office supplies aisle, and he grinned behind his mask. As fast as he could he grabbed notebooks, pencils, pens, colored pencils, rubber bands, markers, and anything else he could reach.  
That was one less stop they had to make now.  
Gerard headed up one more aisle and grabbed some bags of rice, then jogged up to the entrance.  
Ray was waiting for him. They stood together for a few moments until Frank and Mikey appeared, each pushing their own cart. Bob showed up a minute later.  
Together, they pushed their carts out into the sunshine and clean air, then gathered around the car.  
Mikey started collecting masks while Bob ran inventory.  
"Protein?"  
"Jerky," Ray said.  
Bob nodded, glancing into Ray's cart to see the stacks of black and red packages.  
"Peanut butter," Gerard reported.  
"Good. Fruit and vegetables?"  
"A bunch of dried veggie sticks and veggie crackers," Frank smiled, pointing into his own cart.  
"Preserves too," Gerard added.  
"Awesome, okay, dairy?"  
No one spoke up.  
"Alright," Bob said. "We'll have to look for more calcium supplements if we find a pharmacy. Grains?"  
"I got chips and crackers," Gerard said. "And rice."  
"I got some mac and cheese," Frank said, then grinned. "Oh hey, dairy!"  
Bob rolled his eyes. "Good, okay. But we should still grab some calcium pills anyway. Mikey, are we good for sugar?"  
Mikey nodded, eyeing his cart. "Candy, soda, energy drinks. The chocolate was all melted. I grabbed some flavored popcorn stuff and those spicy candies that Frank likes."  
"Ooh, Red Hots!"  
"Anything else guys?" Bob asked, looking around at their small group.  
"The tuna was all past," Ray said. "Potatoes were rotten. I got some trail mixes though."  
"I grabbed a shit ton of bubblegum," Frank added.  
"I got my extra stuff all done," Gerard said. "There was an office supply aisle."  
"Perfect, one less stop," Bob grinned. "I raided the check outs for magazines and crossword puzzles and shit. Let's hit the road."  
They loaded up and set off again.  
It wasn't until they found a pharmacy and parked out front that they saw their first human.  
An old guy, probably in his late fifties, was sitting against the brick wall of the store. His shoes were gone, his clothes were faded from the weather. He had clearly been dead for a while.  
Frank crossed himself as they pushed open the front doors, but everyone else pretended they didn't see the man.  
Again, they split up and headed down the aisles. Gerard loaded up on wet wipes, soap, deodorants and body sprays. He could hear Mikey in the next aisle grabbing toothbrushes and other oral hygiene products. Frank was in the opposite aisle, mumbling to himself.  
Gerard turned into Frank's aisle and smiled to see the boy debating over hair dyes.  
"What color are you looking for?" Gerard asked, hefting his basket onto his hip.  
"I was thinking of bleaching it again, you know?" Frank muttered. "Then maybe like... really dark blue or something."  
"That would look cool," Gerard smiled, glancing at Frank's grown out black hair. "Do we still have hair scissors?"  
"I don't think so," Frank said thoughtfully. "You wanna go grab me some?"  
"Sure." Gerard pecked a kiss onto Frank's cheek then headed up to the other end of the hair care aisle. He grabbed shampoo on his way, then scissors when he spotted them.  
"Got one!" came Ray's voice from the opposite end of the small store.  
Frank and Gerard locked eyes for a split second before they headed toward Ray, weapons gripped tight in their free hands.  
Bob was already there when they found Ray. Mikey was hot on Gerard's heels.  
They all looked down.  
It was a woman who looked about 30. She was exceedingly pale and thin, laying on the tile floor. There were scabbed over scars on her wrists and Gerard had to look away for a moment.  
Ray knelt beside the woman.  
"Are you okay?" he gently asked the woman.  
She stared up at them like she had forgotten what people looked like, hardly blinking at all.  
"Is there anyone else here with you?" Ray asked her, a little more forcefully.  
She shook her head slowly. Her voice, when she found it a moment later, was hoarse and despondent.  
"They're all dead."  
"Do you need anything?" Ray asked somberly.  
"Kill me," she whispered.  
Ray stood and turned away from the woman. He held a hand out for Bob's basket, full of pill bottles, then walked away.  
Mikey trailed after him and Gerard made to follow, pausing long enough to watch Frank.  
Frank knelt down in front of the woman and started muttering in her ear, drawing her attention away from Bob, who was cocking his gun. Frank handed the woman a rosary, the dark red one that he always kept in his front pocket, and folded her hands around it before kissing her forehead.  
Gerard turned then and left the store, helping Ray and Mikey load their supplies into the trunk. They all jumped as a shot rang out, but no one spoke.  
A few minutes later Bob and Frank exited the pharmacy and stored their supplies in the trunk. Bob climbed back into the passenger seat and Frank crawled into the back with Gerard. The small boy pressed into Gerard's side and thumbed his rosary, lips moving as he muttered silently to himself. Gerard wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, reaching out with his other hand to grip Mikey's small, cold fingers.  
Ray started the car and they left, quickly finding their way back to the highway and leaving the city behind.

 

They pulled into a rest stop before nightfall.  
Bob, Ray, and Mikey headed inside the small building while Gerard and Frank stayed to guard the car.  
They stood at opposite ends of the back bumper, peering around into the trees to make sure no one snuck up on them. The others returned quickly.  
"We're good," Ray reported. "Vending machines are already cleared out but the water works.  
"Oh thank fuck," Frank groaned. "Sink showers for everyone tomorrow," he declared.  
"Let's eat and call it a night," Ray suggested.  
As a general rule they didn't break into their new supplies until they had the time to sort through it all, so they ate from the store of food that they had brought with them from the old car.  
Ray got to work on a small fire while everyone else unpacked sleeping bags, food, bottles of water, and pillows. They had rice and heated-up jerky for dinner.  
When the fire was mostly dead, everyone climbed into their sleeping bags and, one by one, dropped off. Except Mikey; he was on watch that night.  
Gerard turned his head to the side to watch Frank fluff his lifeless pillow. The only sound besides the crackling of the fire and Ray and Bob's breathing was Mikey taking occasional sips from an energy drink.  
Frank eventually settled and smiled when he saw Gerard watching. They were close enough to each stick a hand out of their sleeping bags and wind their fingers together on the ground. Frank's rosary was still wrapped around his other hand.  
"You doing alright?" Gerard whispered.  
Frank nodded before he answered. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright. You?"  
"I got you, and I got Mikey, so I'm good."  
"I love you, Gee."  
"I love you too, Frankie. Good night."  
"Night."  
They shut their eyes and tried to find sleep, leaving their hands wrapped together on the ground between them.

 

Sunrise was chilly in the way that only sunrise can be. Even though they were in the south, they could never escape the cool, uncomfortable mornings.  
Mikey had stoked the fire back to life by the time everyone else woke up, so Gerard got busy making coffee. Ray followed him inside the rest stop to get water while Frank set off running laps around the parking lot, stretching out his legs.  
Bob had breakfast going by the time the coffee was brewed, and everyone buried their faces in their mugs, watching the soup heat up.  
"Who's on dishes today?" Mikey mumbled, eyes barely open.  
"I think I am," Frank mumbled back. "Dishes then showers then packing, yeah?"  
"Yeah," Bob agreed.

Ray accompanied Frank into the small building to do the dishes while Bob and Gerard broke camp. Mikey just sat and poked at the fire with a stick.  
Frank let Bob dry the pots and pans while he started handing out soaps and shampoos and toothbrushes.  
"Hair, junk, armpits, and feet!" Frank ordered, calling after Mikey and Gerard when they headed inside. Mikey waved a lazy middle finger over his shoulder but Gerard chuckled.  
The water was cold, of course, so they rushed through their cleaning routines by the sinks and avoided their own tired faces in the mirrors.  
Back outside they found Frank and Ray unloading the van, spreading out all their supplies and taking inventory. Bob pulled Ray away so they could take their turn in the rest stop bathrooms, so Gerard went and helped Frank. Mikey pulled his sleeping bag away from them into the dying grass and immediately fell unconscious. He never lasted too long after an all night guard shift.  
Frank pressed Gerard against the van after a few minutes and shoved his face into the older boy's neck.  
"Mmm, you smell good."  
"Ah, Frank," Gerard groaned. "Not the time."  
"Fuck that," Frank chuckled.  
When Ray and Bob returned, hair wet and looking a bit more comfortable in their own skin, Frank grabbed his own shower stuff and dragged Gerard into the rest stop bathroom.  
He washed quickly, although more thoroughly than the rest of them, then attacked Gerard with his mouth.  
"Uhg," Frank groaned when he pulled away, hands flying to undo Gerard's pants. "Clean Gerard, hallelujah."  
Gerard whimpered back at him.

Frank was practically skipping when they returned to the van. Gerard's hair was a bit more mussed than it usually was and he had a grin on his face.  
Bob rolled his eyes and Ray laughed.  
They set about taking inventory.  
Food that would go bad in the next two weeks was set in one pile, while the longer lasting stuff was packed away and placed in the back of the van. All the pillows were stripped and placed in new pillow cases. The new sheets were thrown over the van seats, making everything a bit more comfortable. They sorted clothes next, throwing out any socks with holes in them and folding and stacking all their new clothes in a box.  
Bob spent some time sitting with Ray, going over their new and old supplies of medicine, first aid stuff, prescriptions and supplements. Gerard and Frank worked on packing everything in the van so that the necessary stuff was easy to reach.  
Gerard eventually broke open a pack of his new pencils and found a place in the grass to sit and update his journal.

_September 19th, 2017  
Camping out at a rest stop today. Got to shower and spend some time with Frank. Ray said we'll stay here another night then figure out where to head next. I'll have to remember to bring up Florida. Mikey took watch last night, so he's sleeping while the rest of us go through the spoils from yesterday's scavenger trip. We found a dead man and a woman who wanted to be dead at a pharmacy. Bob took care of it, like he always does. Mikey's still quiet. I'll have to talk to him soon and find out what's wrong.  
No survivors at the rest stop  
-Gerard_

At the bottom of the page he sketched Frank's hands from memory, the well-worn rosary wrapped between his fingers. He thought about opening the pack of colored pencils he got yesterday to color in the dark red of the beads, but ended up deciding against it.  
"Hey, Gerard!"  
Gerard looked up in time to see Frank toss a baseball at him. He caught it before it hit him in the face. Frank laughed and waved his arms.  
Gerard tossed it back then went to put his journal and pencil safely in the van. He joined Frank for some catch in the parking lot before Ray and Bob joined in, turning it into a game of monkey-in-the-middle as they tossed the ball back and forth while Frank tried and failed to grab it as it soared over his head. Eventually he tackled Ray then ran away, up the parking lot, cheering in triumph and waving the baseball over his head. Bob had to sit down and catch his breath from laughing so hard.

Gerard woke Mikey for lunch while Ray handed out supplements and protein bars. They cooked up some of the mac and cheese Frank had grabbed, mixing the cheese with water instead of milk, then had chips and soda afterward.  
When Frank and Bob got back from doing the dishes, Gerard spoke up.  
"So, uh. I was thinking about heading to Florida."  
Everyone looked up at him.  
"You know, Disney might be cool in all ruins," he added.  
Frank grinned at him.  
"I'm cool with it," Ray said.  
"Yeah, sounds fun," Bob nodded.  
"Okay," Mikey said.  
"We should stop at Universal too," Frank said, bouncing a little where he sat. "Fucking, Wizarding World of Harry Potter."  
The others laughed, then Bob and Ray pulled out their old maps and starting figuring out their new route.  
Frank pulled Gerard away and kissed him.  
"Thank you."  
"Anything for you, Frankie. And hey, how much of the Harry Potter candy is still good, do you think?"  
"Oh man, I'm totally gonna grab a Hedwig plushie," Frank giggled.  
Gerard laughed with him, until he caught sight of Mikey sitting alone by the fire.  
"Hey Frank, have you noticed Mikey being quieter than usual lately?"  
Frank sobered and glanced around at Mikey.  
"Yeah. I didn't want to say anything until you talked to him. What do you think it is?"  
"I don't know," Gerard sighed. "I'll talk to him after dinner tonight, I guess."

The conversation came up a lot faster than Gerard liked, and before he knew it Frank was making pointed faces at him and nodding towards Mikey.  
Gerard got up off the ground and left his empty bowl behind.  
"Uh, hey Mikey," he muttered to his younger brother. "Can we talk for a bit?"  
"Sure, Gee. What's going on?" Mikey asked, following Gerard away from the group.  
"It's just that, uh, you've seemed pretty quiet lately and I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."  
Gerard expected Mikey to brush it off and say he was great, but instead the boy sighed.  
"It's mom and dad's anniversary tomorrow."  
The words hit Gerard like a punch to his ribs. He hadn't thought about his parents in... weeks.  
He cleared his throat. "We should do something special for them, yeah?"  
Mikey nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think they'd like that."  
"Any ideas?"  
Mikey shook his head.  
"Alright, we'll come up with something," Gerard promised. "And the next time something's on your mind, you should come and tell me, you know?"  
Mikey nodded. "Yeah, alright. I will."  
Gerard pulled his brother into a hug and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, picturing their parents happy and carefree and proud of their sons. They would've been proud.  
"Love you Mikes."  
"You too, Gee."

They were on the road the next day, headed for Florida.  
Gerard was driving because Frank had taken watch last night and was now passed out in the backseat. Gerard couldn't afford Frank sized distractions when he drove.  
Ray was in the front with him, checking the map every so often and switching out the cds when each one finished playing.  
"So, hey," Gerard said as he weaved around an abandoned tractor trailer. "Do we still have any fireworks left from the 4th?"  
"Uh," Ray said, thumbing through their binder of cds. "I think some sparklers and firecrackers. Why?"  
"It's my parent's anniversary, and Mikey wants to do something special. I thought..."  
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Ray smiled. "Once it gets dark we can pull over and do it and then I can take over driving so you and Mikey can like, hang out or something."  
"Awesome, that's- Thanks Ray."  
"No problem."

Gerard thought about his parents as he drove, watching the sun begin to set. He missed them, sure... but not like Mikey did.  
Gerard was nineteen, which meant he was sixteen when it happened. But Mikey had only been twelve at the time and he didn't have as many memories as Gerard.  
No kid should be without his parents at fifteen, but that was just the way it was.  
Their ages, of course, made up their unofficial hierarchy. Bob was twenty, and therefore in charge for big decisions. Gerard and Ray were nineteen and second in command. Frank was almost eighteen but didn't handle responsibility that well so he pretty much got assigned the same duties as fifteen year old Mikey.  
It worked for them. Bob never led them astray and he always made sure everyone had what they needed to live. They trusted him, even though they had only known him for a little over a year.  
"Right here," Ray said, pointing to a clear space of highway.  
Gerard pulled over.  
"What's up?" Bob asked from behind them.  
"We're having a little celebration," Ray announced. "It's Mr. and Mrs. Way's anniversary."  
Gerard got out and started going through the boxes in the back while Bob shook Frank awake.  
"Found 'em!" Gerard called, unearthing the tiny cardboard boxes of sparklers and firecrackers.  
Everyone piled out of the car and Ray cranked up the music from the car stereo. Bob lit the sparklers that Gerard handed out and they all laughed, waving them around and trying to make pictures in the light. They ended up in another game of Keep-Away as Bob and Gerard tried to fend off Frank's attempts to get the firecrackers.  
"We're not having a repeat of the 4th of July!" Ray called.  
"That was totally an accident!" Frank said, defending himself. "And Gerard healed up fine!"  
Gerard laughed and shoved Frank, thinking about the scar under his eye from a badly aimed firework.  
When they were down to their last handful of firecrackers, Gerard pulled Mikey to the front.  
"Alright Mikey, finish it up with style," he said, lighting them all and letting Mikey toss them into the air.  
The boys all cheered over the _bangbangbang_ of explosions.  
"To Don and Donna Way, together forever!" Ray announced.  
"Hear hear!" everyone else cried.  
They piled back into the van after that, Ray and Bob taking the front seats, Frank taking the middle, and Gerard tugging Mikey into the backseat.  
"How was that, Mikey?" Gerard asked as they pulled away from the shoulder.  
"You think they saw it?" Mikey asked in a soft voice.  
"'Course they did. They're watching over us, you know."  
Mikey nodded and hugged Gerard tight. "Thanks."

The next day was spent on travel; Bob, Ray, and Gerard trading off hours behind the wheel. Mikey had been bugging them lately about learning to drive, but Gerard was anxious about putting his little brother in charge of a giant mechanical box.  
"We're gonna have to teach him eventually," Bob said reasonably after Mikey had brought the subject up again for the millionth time. "I mean, even Frank knows how to drive."  
"What do you mean _'even Frank'_?" Frank protested.  
"I just mean," Bob pressed on, "that he should know _how_ in case something ever happens."  
 _If we get separated and he needs to get to our rendezvous spot,_ Gerard thought. _Or if we all get hurt and there's no one else to drive. Or if Mikey's the only one left...._  
"Alright, fine," Gerard sighed. Mikey cheered in the back of the car, high fiving with Frank. "But not in the van, and not on the highway."

Two days later they found themselves in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart, looking for a car suitable for Mikey's first lesson.  
"Here!" yelled Ray, waving his hands and pointing at a rusting little grey car.  
They all jogged over and examined the car.  
"A nice little four door," Ray smiled.  
Gerard shifted anxiously. "I don't think-"  
"Come on, Gee," Frank said, shoving Gerard's arm gently. "The kid's ready already."  
Mikey stuck his chin in the air defiantly.  
Gerard sighed in defeat.

Gerard sat in the passenger's seat and coached Mikey through starting a car while the others leaned against the van and watched, taking bets on if Mikey would hit any stationary objects.  
Bob or Ray might have made better teachers, but neither of them dared muscle in on Gerard's Older Brother Right to teach his kid brother to drive.  
Suddenly the car jumped forward about a foot then slammed to a halt. Bob shook his head.  
"Maybe we should've waited for his 16th birthday," Ray muttered, watching the car jump forward again.  
"Gerard taught him to shoot a gun, he can teach him to drive a car," Frank declared.  
"Gerard won't even carry a gun," pointed out Bob.  
"He's better with a blade, we all decided that."  
"True."  
It was almost an hour before Mikey got the hang of driving up and down the parking lot rows. Gerard had him using his blinker for some reason that the other boys couldn't figure out.  
The three of them eventually got bored and waved Mikey and Gerard over.  
"Hey, we're gonna check out the Wal-Mart, see if there's anything good," Bob said through the car window. "Honk if you need us, alright?"  
"Alright," Gerard nodded.  
Bob, Ray and Frank left the brothers to their driving lesson and headed into the store. They stayed away from the slimy, moldy produce section and headed further in.  
"Games," Frank demanded. "And books for Mikey."  
They quickly located the game aisle in the dark store, searching by flashlight for anything that looked interesting.  
Frank grabbed a new pack of cards since their old deck had tell-tale worn spots on certain cards. Ray was ripping open packages and playing with the finger boards, setting up ramps and things on the store shelves. Bob tried to hula hoop for a moment before just rolling it away down the main aisle.  
"Oooh, bikes!" Frank called.  
It took almost no time before the three of them were racing each other through the empty aisles, yelling out insults whenever they fell out of first place.  
Once they were out of breath, they headed over to the books, skimming the titles and each grabbing a stack. Frank made a pit stop in the craft aisle and decided he wanted to learn how to knit, so he grabbed everything he would need.  
Outside they piled their goods into the van and called driver training to an end. It was starting to get dark and they needed to find somewhere to bed down.  
They got back on the road, Mikey wearing a proud little grin and Gerard shaking like someone had just mugged him. Frank cuddled in close and tried not to laugh at Gerard's nerves. 

It was full night before they found a little motel. They locked the van up tight and trekked inside, each boy carrying a backpack full of his own stuff.  
Bob and Ray roomed next to each other, with Mikey across the hall. Frank and Gerard took a room at the other end of the floor and everyone acted like they didn't know the reason.

"Gee," Frank groaned, pushing close to the older boy. "We got a bed."  
Gerard laughed and tugged Frank down onto the cold, dusty sheets.

 

The next morning they ate together in the kitchens, raiding the pantry for all its can goods.  
They repacked the van with the new additions of food and tiny bars of soap ( _It's like, mandatory to steal the soap from motels!_ Frank claimed) and hit the road again.

"Another day or so and we should be there," Ray announced that afternoon as they sped down the highway.  
"I'm so psyched," Frank exclaimed.  
"You realize none of the rides are gonna work, right?" Mikey asked.  
"Duh, that's not the point," Frank said, rolling his eyes. "It's fucking _Disney!_ "

_September 24th, 2017  
We're almost to Disney, Frank's pretty excited. I'm hoping to find some inspiration for my sketch book, it's been too long since I've actually drawn something. We crashed at a motel last night. Frank and I had a room and a bed to ourselves, and hours alone for once. It was really great. I'm hoping we can get some time together again soon. I'd like to stay in Florida for a while. It's warm.  
No survivors spotted.  
-Gerard_

"Gerard!" Frank complained. "Explain to your brother why Disney is so cool."  
"We went there when you were three, remember Mikes?"  
Mikey turned in his seat to give Gerard a long-suffering look.  
"I don't remember anything from when I was three years old, Gerard."  
"Well, I mean, you saw the photo albums and stuff, right?" Gerard pressed.  
"Yeah."  
"It's just really cool. There's all sorts of different buildings and shops and the rides tower over everything."  
Frank cut in. "It's the happiest place on Earth."  
"Plus," Gerard reasoned, "it hasn't been abandoned long enough to be creepy, like that fucking amusement park in Nevada-"  
"No!" Ray shouted from the front seat. "We do not ever mention The Creepy Amusement Park of Death!"  
The other boys laughed, even Mikey.  
"I'll get you a Mickey hat, it'll be great," Gerard smiled.  
"You can cross out the C," Frank chuckled.  
Mikey pushed him out of his seat.

 

"Dude."  
"I know."  
"Wow."  
"It's like...."  
"Yeah."  
The five boys stood shoulder to shoulder in the parking lot of Disney Land, looking up at the looming rides and buildings.  
"It's all ours," Frank finally laughed, breaking through the quiet awe.  
"Last one to reach the giant golf ball doesn't get a Mickey hat!" Ray shouted, already racing across the pavement.  
The others quickly gave chase.

Frank and Mikey went off to raid the candy shops while Ray and Bob went to check out some of the souvenir stores. Gerard sat down on a bench with his sketch book and pencils to try and capture the rusting rollercoaster in front of him.  
He wished he had a Polaroid camera so he could photograph the abandoned park.  
Usually they never went off alone, but Gerard had promised not to move from his bench until everyone got back. Plus he had his switchblade lying open on the seat next to him.  
The park was silent and perfectly still except for a slight breeze blowing through the trees and making some of the rides screech as they swayed. The brilliant Florida sun shone down, casting solid shadows and heating up Gerard's back and neck.  
He remembered coming here when he was seven with his mom and dad and toddling little brother. He had gotten his picture taken with the different characters and had gone on a bunch of rides with his dad. Gerard wished that Mikey could remember that trip.  
He wondered what kind of person Mikey would be if he had grown up like a normal kid. If the world hadn't ended just after he turned twelve.  
Gerard flipped back to the first page of his sketch book and spent a while just staring at the drawing he had done of his parents.  
Mikey would have been a Sophomore in high school. Gerard would have been in college by now. Gerard wondered if him and Frank would have still fallen in love if they had had the real world to distract them. He hoped so.  
Ray had been the first person Gerard had sought out after it happened. He had taken Mikey by the hand and pulled them into their parent's car, then drove to his best friend's house. Mikey had been the one to demand they check on _his_ best friend after Ray had joined them.  
Sometimes Gerard had nightmares about what would have happened to fourteen year old Frank if Mikey hadn't thought to go get him.

"Hey, what'cha thinking about?"  
Gerard startled a bit and looked up to see Frank smiling down at him, a giant round lollipop in his hand. He had managed to find an old mouse hat that said "FRANK" in fading white letters.  
Gerard grinned up at him. "Nothing much. How's the park?"  
"It's fucking awesome, Gee." Frank plopped down on the bench next to him, reaching out so Gerard could taste the lollipop. "Mikey and I found where they kept the character suits, all hung up on racks and shit. It was so creepy."  
"Where is Mikey?" Gerard asked, craning his neck around to search for the skinny boy.  
"He had to piss," Frank shrugged, pointing towards the bathrooms a little ways away.  
"You're not supposed to leave him alone, Frank!" Gerard said, starting to climb to his feet.  
Frank tugged him back down.  
"He's old enough to go to the bathroom on his own, Gerard. I checked first, there wasn't anyone in there."  
"But still-"  
"Gerard, he's fifteen, man. He's older than I was when it happened, you know? I think he's mature enough to handle a little more responsibility."  
Gerard sighed and spun his pencil between his fingers. Frank scooted closer.  
"I'm sorry. I know you don't like to talk about it. Never mind."  
"No," Gerard said, resigned. "You're right. He's not a kid anymore."  
They both watched as Mikey came out of the bathroom and started towards them.  
"I'm kind of surprised that there isn't anyone here," Gerard muttered. "You'd think other people would have had the same idea."  
"Maybe a year or so ago, yeah," Frank nodded. "I think most people have moved on though."  
"Do you think we should start moving on?"  
Frank turned to look at Gerard's profile, a small frown on his face.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean," Gerard sighed. "I mean, we can't keep driving forever, you know? Eventually we're gonna have to pick a place and stick to it."  
"How long have you been thinking about this?" Frank asked, lowering his voice as Mikey got closer.  
"A while."  
Mikey strolled up then and tossed Gerard a plastic bag full of candy that hadn't gone bad or melted yet.  
"Hey, thanks! Did you find me a hat?"  
"The closest we could find was "JARED" and I assumed you wouldn't think it was close enough," Mikey chuckled.  
"Uhg, I can never find my name on those dumb key chains at convenience stores either," Gerard groaned.  
"I like your name," Frank grinned. "It's like, unique."  
"Unique means one of a kind," Gerard reminded him.  
"Well, it's uncommon then," Frank responded. "You're not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry."  
"Why would anyone name their kid Dick?" Mikey asked, appalled.  
"It's short for Richard," Gerard told him.  
"How in the _world_ is that short for Richard?"  
"I have no idea," Gerard shrugged.  
They spotted Bob and Ray coming around a corner then and they stood to go meet them.  
"Hey," Frank muttered conspiratorially. "Do you think if I bet Ray to go though It's A Small World by himself he could do it without pissing himself?"  
Gerard and Mikey tried to stifle their laughter before they reached the other boys.

They spent that night in a ritzy hotel close to the park.  
Frank made Mikey jump on one of the king sized beds with him before unpacking because no one else would.  
Everyone was so stuffed with candy that they only had rice and water for dinner. Bob looked like he wanted to scold them all for making themselves sick, but he couldn't because he had eaten just as much candy as the rest of them.  
Frank wore his Mickey Mouse hat for the rest of the night until Gerard had put his foot down and said he couldn't wear it to bed.  
Frank grouched and set it by his bag before pulling Gerard into the bathroom.  
"Help me dye my hair," he demanded.

 

After breakfast the next day, where they all lounged on fancy couches, Gerard sought out Bob.  
Gerard saw Frank shoot him a look while he scratched at his newly dark blue hair. Gerard smiled but left him sitting with Mikey while him and Bob went into a storage closet.  
"Can't believe you helped him do that to his head," Bob chuckled.  
"If I didn't help he would've just fucked it up," Gerard admitted.  
"True. So what's up, Gee?"  
Gerard sighed and met Bob's gaze. "What's our time frame looking like?"  
Bob blinked. "What do you... I don't know what you mean."  
"Come on, Bob. I know you're keeping track."  
Bob stared at him for a few moments, then relented.  
"Fine, yeah. I've been keeping track."  
Gerard nodded. "So how much longer do you think we can keep this up?"  
Bob ran a hand through his blond hair, pushing it away from his forehead.  
"Honestly? I'd say another year or two before all the food goes bad, a couple years after that the water pipes underground are gonna start to rust through and burst. A lot sooner than that though, and we're gonna start finding empty gas station tanks."  
Gerard ran a hand through his own hair and took a deep breath.  
"So, what? Another year on the road before we just can't do it anymore?"  
"Looks like."  
"We're gonna have to find someplace to settle before we run out of options."  
"Yeah," Bob sighed. "I know."  
"You gotta bring it up, soon. I'm behind the idea one hundred percent, and I don't think Frank will put up too much of a fight."  
"I already mentioned it to Ray and he agrees with me," Bob confirmed.  
"Lemme talk to Mikey and then we should all sit down and, you know, talk about it."  
"Alright."  
They left the storage closet and Gerard went right over to Mikey.  
"Group meeting in twenty, guys," Bob said.  
"Mikey, I need to talk to you," Gerard muttered.  
Mikey stood up and Frank caught Gerard's hand.  
"What's going on?"  
"It's about what I mentioned yesterday."  
"Oh... yeah. Okay."  
He let Gerard walk away with Mikey trailing after.  
"What's going on, Gerard?" Mikey demanded once they reached the hallway.  
"We've all been thinking, you know, about finding some place to settle down."  
"What do you mean?"  
Gerard leaned heavily against the wall. "We can't stay on the road for too much longer," Gerard admitted. "We need to stop soon and find someplace to live, permanately."  
"We're going back to Jersey?" Mikey asked, confused.  
"No, it's too cold up there. By now all the pipes would've frozen and burst and half the roofs have probably collapsed under the snow and ice."  
Mikey winced and Gerard tried to ease up.  
"It'd be down here, in the south. Where the weather wouldn't be a constant threat and we could grow food and collect water."  
"You've been thinking this through for a while, haven't you?"  
Gerard nodded. "Bob's been keeping track of how long things could last and it's only a year or so before all the food hits it's experation date, you know?"  
Mikey seemed to turn his gaze inward for a second.  
"Yeah," he agreed. "I haven't seen any dates past 2018...." He looked at Gerard, no longer needing to tilt his head up since he was growing so fast. "So what, we're gonna farm?"  
Gerard shrugged. "People used to do it all the time, you know? Before. They called it living off the grid."  
"Huh," Mikey said without inflection.  
"You can't tell me you don't miss fruit, right?" Gerard grinned.  
"I do really miss tomatoes," Mikey admitted.  
"We're gonna talk about it soon, all of us."  
"Group meeting, huh?" Mikey grinned.  
"Yeah," Gerard chuckled.  
"How does Frank feel about it?"  
"We haven't really talked about it..." Gerard admitted.  
Mikey rolled his eyes. "Go talk to him _now_ , before the meeting. Idiot."  
Gerard shoved his younger brother's shoulder gently.  
"Yeah alright, go get him for me?"  
"Sure."  
Mikey walked down the hallway and back into the lobby, leaving Gerard with his thoughts for a few seconds. He hoped Frank would be as easy to convince as Mikey had been.  
"What's going on?" Frank asked, appearing around the corner.  
"We're talking about getting off the road and finding someplace to live," Gerard told him, not beating around the bush.  
Frank walked slowly up to Gerard, a weird look on his face. He leaned against the wall facing Gerard and took his hand.  
"How'd Mikey take it?"  
"Once I explained that we weren't going back to Jersey?" Gerard huffed out a laugh. "He seems cool with it."  
Frank smiled weakly. "What about you?"  
"I think we can do it," Gerard answered honestly.  
"This won't change anything, right? We're still together, you and me?"  
Gerard tightened his grip on Frank's hand and pulled him in for a hug.  
"Of course, nothing's gonna change that."  
Frank buried his face in Gerard's neck and pecked a kiss onto his skin. Frank smelled like bleach and fruity shampoo.  
"Good," he said, voice muffled. "I love you."  
"I love you too, Frankie."  
From back in the lobby they heard Bob call out that the meeting was starting with or without them, so they hurried back, giggling.

 

"So, Georgia seems like the best place, I think." There was nodding all around.  
Once they had all gotten on the same page about needing to find somewhere to live, the talk had turned to logistics.  
"Far enough from the ocean that the hurricanes won't be a huge threat," Bob said.  
"Warm enough to grow food all year 'round," Gerard nodded.  
"Somewhere with lots of land and enough bedrooms for each of us," Ray continued, scribbling down a list on a blank sheet of hotel stationary.  
Frank snickered but everyone ignored him.  
"We should pick up another car on the way and fill it with supplies," Bob thought aloud.  
Ray flipped to another sheet of paper and wrote _Supplies_ at the top.  
"Bottled water, seeds, can goods, clothes," Bob listed as Ray wrote.  
"Books and things to keep us entertained," Mikey added.  
"Definitely books on gardening and survival and stuff. I don't know how to filter water," Gerard said.  
"Gardening supplies, like shovels and rakes and shit," Frank told Ray.  
"All the gas cans we can find and all the gas we can carry," Bob said. "We'll need to find a generator eventually."  
"Candles, batteries, blankets...."  
They kept going until lunch, then talked about it for the rest of the day.

 

The next day they were back on the road, but this time it felt different. They had a destination, sort of.  
"One last stop for Harry Potter, then we can head to Georgia," was the only complaint that Frank had put up.  
So they headed for Universal, scouting along the way for another car even though Mikey had pointed out that they'd probably find a billion in the Universal parking lot.  
Gerard spent most of the ride thinking about finally having a home again. About waking up in a bed and going down to breakfast in a kitchen. Being able to take showers and be alone for a while if he wanted. No more sleeping bags, no more campfires. No more dehydrated veggies and jerky for dinner.  
They would spend all morning working in the garden or repairing their house or whatever needed to be done. Then showers and lunch and lazing around for the rest of the day, reading or playing games or being with Frank.  
Gerard couldn't help but be excited at the prospect.

 

They got to Universal in record time. Gerard wasn't allowed to sit this trip out though, and Frank dragged him all over the park.  
They stuffed a backpack full of Honeydukes candy and found scarves and hats for each of their houses. Mikey insisted he was in Ravenclaw even though Frank kept telling him he was _obviously_ a Hufflepuff. Bob and Ray both grabbed Gryffendor scarves, while Frank took a Slytheryn one just because no one else would. Gerard took the Hufflepuff scarf that Frank had tied around Mikey's neck and put it around his own, then made sure Mikey got the Ravenclaw one he wanted.  
They spent a long time in Ollivander's trying out wands and throwing stuff around, humoring Frank who actually knew a lot of different spells.  
Bob teased him about it but Frank shouted "Wingardium Leviosa!" and threw a few boxes at him.  
Next they found their way into the castle, avoiding the rides but excitedly running through the corridors and Dumbledore's office.

They were exhausted at the end of the day, but happy. They decided to sleep in the van that night and Frank curled up next to Gerard, one hand linked with his boyfriend's and the other holding on to his Hedwig plushie.

 

_September 27th, 2017  
The Harry Potter park was amazing. Honestly the most fun we've had in a long time. We're spending the morning in the parking lot, looking for cars. Well, Ray and Bob are looking for cars; Frank and Mikey are having a wizard's duel. Georgia is only a day or two away I think, and then we'll start looking for a new home. We've been talking about finding a small motel instead of a house, that way we'd all have bedrooms and stuff. I hope we find one with a pool.  
Okay, Frank is throwing pebbles at me and yelling "Crucio!" so I'd better go.  
No survivors at the park.  
-Gerard._

 

Bob and Ray ended up returning with two vehicles; another van and a pick up truck.  
"Man, who drives a pick up to an amusement park?" Frank had asked, appalled.  
"I dunno," Ray said, "but the back is stuffed with camping gear."  
"We emptied the new van," Bob told them. "We just have to go through the stuff in the truck and see what we want to keep. We can get back on the road tomorrow and scavenge along the way, how does that sound?"  
"Aye, aye!" Frank cried.  
Bob shot him a look and Frank tried to cast an unforgiveable curse on him, which apparently Bob took personally since he then wrestled Frank to the ground and stole his wand.  
"You can have it back when you promise to stop using dark magic!" Bob scolded him.  
Frank pouted.

The spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through their supplies and splitting them up between the two vans and the truck.  
The next morning they were back on the road again, Bob driving the truck, Ray and Frank in the old van and Gerard and Mikey in the new one.

 

When they crossed the state line into Georgia they pulled off to the side of the highway to regroup.  
"This is going to be our first scavenge in different cars, so I want to just- go over everything again, alright?" Bob said, glancing between the guys and the abandoned cars on the road.  
"We're gonna take the next exit and, as much as I hate to split up, I think we should each go after different things."  
Gerard briefly glanced at Frank and Mikey, anxious.  
"I'm going to a hardware store," Bob continued, "Ray and Frank are on food, Gerard and Mikey, you guys are on extras."  
Everyone nodded. Frank snuck a hand into Gerard's sweaty grip.  
"We'll make a list for everyone, then meet at the on ramp to the highway, got it?"  
"Got it," they all answered.

A short while later they got back into their respective vehicles, after Frank gave Gerard a tight hug and a murmured "I love you".  
Mikey held on to their list as they took the exit, watching a fairly sized town bloom in front of their eyes.  
Bob's truck turned off first, disappearing down a side road. Half a mile later Ray and Frank turned off the road. Gerard saw Frank watching him as they drove away.  
Gerard and Mikey turned into a small strip mall parking lot. They checked their list and their weapons once more before getting out of the van and locking the doors.  
The inside wasn't too dark, since the ceiling had giant skylights set in it, so they shut off their flashlights and crept forward.  
A tiny bookstore was first. Gerard headed for the How To section while Mikey jogged off toward the novels. Only a few minutes into their search did Gerard realize the problem.  
"Mikey, we need a shopping cart," he whispered. His voice carried through the silent store.  
"Come on, quick. Let's go find one," Mikey whispered back, setting a stack of books on the floor and grabbing Gerard on his way out of the store.  
They hurried into the wide hallway, found a cart, then jogged back into the store, filling the rusting metal cart halfway with books.  
They crept into the next store over, a greeting card shop, and started grabbing candles and batteries.  
Next was a little clothing store that was darker than the rest of the strip mall. They turned on their flashlights and spread out, grabbing whatever they thought would fit them in the months to come.  
They found a tiny gadget store in the far end of the mall and ran over.  
"I don't think they'd have generators here," Gerard whispered. "Plus I wouldn't know what to look for even if they did."  
"We can still look around," Mikey said.  
They found more batteries, in all sizes instead of just the AA's they had at the card shop. Mikey struck gold when he found some old walkie-talkies. They threw them in the shopping cart with wide smiles.  
"Okay, there's a mini mart over there, let's go look. Ray and Frank are on food but if we find anything good we shouldn't pass it up," Gerard muttered.  
"Got'cha."  
They hurried through the slim aisles. Mikey was apparently on fire that day, because he immediately stumbled upon a rack of seed packets.  
"You're brilliant," Gerard whispered to Mikey as they tossed dozens of little paper packets into the cart. "Alright, let's get out of here and meet the others."

They found the on ramp easily and parked just off to the side of it. The brothers decided to start going through their haul while they waited for their friends.  
Twenty minutes later they were both starting to get anxious.  
"They're fine, they'll be fine," Mikey was reassuring Gerard. "Ray's a great shot and no one would fuck with Frank's bat. Besides, they wouldn't run into anyone, they're probably just bitching over what kind of soups to get."  
Gerard grinned and hugged his brother close to his side gratefully.  
Bob showed up soon after, with the back of his truck filled with tools, bags of soil, cans full of gas, and a few huge jugs full of water.  
"How'd it go on your end?" he asked immediately.  
They showed him their haul and he grinned at the walkie-talkies and seeds.  
"I'm pretty sure seeds go bad after a while, but it's better than nothing," he told them.  
They went back to waiting. And waiting. All three of them had their eyes trained on the road leading up to the on ramp. Gerard could barely bring himself to blink.  
"I'm gonna fucking kill them when they get back," Bob muttered furiously. "What's taking them so god damn long?"  
"Frank's probably distracting Ray with something stupid," Gerard said, just as angry. "I'm gonna punch him so hard in the face."

When the sun started nearing the horizon Bob threw his hands in the air, turning away from the road.  
"Alright, that's it. I'm going to look for them."  
Gerard shut his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face, trying not to vomit with nerves.  
"Jesus Christ," Mikey suddenly swore. "Look who it is."  
Bob and Gerard jumped and looked up to _finally_ see the van heading up the on ramp.  
As soon as they parked Gerard ran over and yanked open Frank's door. As angry as he was, he didn't punch Frank. Instead he grabbed him in a tight hug and pulled him from the car.  
"God fucking damn it, Frank, what the fuck?" he half growled, half sobbed.  
"We got lost," Frank said weakly.  
"There were some washed out roads," Ray reported, sounding exhausted. "And yeah, we got fucking lost. Sorry."  
Gerard turned to Bob and Ray, not letting go of Frank even a little bit.  
"I don't care how many cars we have, we're never doing that again," he said.  
"Agreed," Bob sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.  
"Agreed," Ray nodded.  
Mikey appeared by Gerard's side and latched onto their hug.

They all slept in the same van that night, despite the fact that they could have separated for more space. They parked the van between the two new cars and bedded down, not speaking too much. Gerard still hadn't let Frank get more than two feet from him.

 

"Wake up!" came a sharp whisper. "Wake up you assholes!"  
Gerard jolted up, recognizing Mikey's voice.  
"Mikey, what's-?"  
"Shh!"  
Gerard fell silent as the rest of the guys woke up. Gerard could see Mikey's wide eyes reflecting moonlight.  
"There's people out there," he whispered.  
Everyone suddenly became statues, not moving and barely breathing. Gerard could feel Frank's rapid heartbeat where their palms were still pressed together.  
They saw it then; a car that hadn't been there when they went to bed. Shadows moving outside.  
"Weapons," Bob ordered, nearly silent.  
Gerard's switchblade fit in his right hand like it was made to sit there. He didn't open it, afraid that the _snick_ of the spring would be too loud.  
Frank slowly unwound his fingers from Gerard's other hand and reached onto the floor of the van to grab his baseball bat.  
"Mikey, how many?" Bob whispered.  
"At least three, I think. Maybe four."  
"Alright." Bob shifted slightly. "Out on three, weapons ready. My side of the van, just like we practiced. Ready? One... two...."  
The five boys sprang into action, flinging open the sliding door and jumping out to duck behind the van. Gerard and Frank stayed low while Bob, Ray and Mikey all pointed their guns into the dark.  
"Don't fucking move!" Bob shouted.  
"Wait! Don't- don't shoot!"  
Gerard exchanged a confused half-glance with Frank in the dark. It was a girl's voice.  
"Come out in the open, all of you," Bob ordered. "We won't shoot if you don't attack."  
Gerard listened to the sound of sneakers on the pavement as people shuffled slowly into view. Gerard and Frank slowly stood up to peer around the van with the others. Frank pulled a flashlight from his pocket and switched it on.  
The light roved over four people, all girls, seemingly around their own age.  
"If you have weapons, toss 'em over," Bob ordered, not relaxing one bit.  
"Hell no," came a different girl's voice. "We won't attack if you don't but we're not giving up our weapons."  
"What do you want?" Bob demanded.  
"We're passing through," said another girl. "We saw your cars parked together and we thought-"  
"We thought we saw someone move," answered the second girl.  
"There's just the four of you?" Ray spoke up.  
"Yup," answered the second girl. She sounded like she was barely containing her desire to attack. "How many you got hiding behind that van?"  
"Five," Bob said.  
"Well, then it seems we're out numbered." The second girl clearly spoke for her group the way Bob spoke for theirs.  
There was a long silence until Bob finally spoke.  
"Look, we don't mean you any harm, alright? You can get back in your car and leave right now if you want but-" he looked around at his friends then focused on the girls again. "We haven't seen anyone in a long time and if, if you girls wanna barter or exchange news and what not, the sun will be up soon and maybe we can all have a civilized chat. No guns pointed at anyone, promise."  
"How can we trust you?" the leader of their pack spat. "Last time we trusted a man J almost got-"  
An awful silence followed for a moment, enough time for everyone to realize she hadn't been about to say "killed".  
"We won't hurt you," Bob said, and he sounded angry now.  
"I don't trust men."  
"I don't blame you."  
Gerard slowly stepped out from behind the van, hands in the air.  
The girls could see him well enough in the moonlight as he walked forward and gently shook his head.  
"We're not gonna hurt you," Gerard promised. He stopped and set his knife on the ground, then took a few steps back.  
There was a long, tense silence, then-  
"Fine!" the girl growled. "You stay over there and we'll stay over here. In the morning we can talk."  
"Sounds good," Bob agreed. He dropped his gun to his side in a show of good intentions, and the other boys quickly followed.  
Gerard retreated back to the van while the girls retreated back to their car.  
Frank pinched Gerard hard for putting himself at risk, but didn't say anything while the girls could still hear them.

It was a long few hours until the sun started to rise.  
Gerard didn't sleep and neither did anyone else.  
When it was light enough out to see, they climbed slowly out of the van and watched as the girls copied them. Gerard felt like he was approaching a venomous snake as the two groups slowly moved to meet in the middle of the mostly empty highway.  
One of the girls was tall with long black hair tied back in pig-tails. They would have made her look childish, but she was dressed like she was in the Army or something, and she had a rifle slung over one shoulder.  
Next to her was a short, curvy girl with dark hair and dark eyes. She wore baggy jeans and a few layers of shirts. In one hand she had a pistol but along her waist Gerard could see numerous holsters for different knives.  
After her came a girl who was tall and thin, with unbound brown hair trailing over her back and shoulders. She seemed to have put more effort into her clothes than the other two, they were clean and rip free. Gerard didn't see a weapon but he assumed she had one on her.  
The next girl was as tall as the first and thinner than the rest, with jet black hair and an abundance of black eyeliner. She looked stern and carried an actual sword on her hip.  
Gerard stopped where he had set down his blade the night before, then slowly sat down. The other boys followed his lead. Ten feet away the girls sat down as well, so they were all facing each other in two opposite rows.  
The silence between the two groups was overwhelming for a minute, so Gerard decided to be the first to break it.  
"Good morning," he said. Four sets of pretty eyes jotted to him. "It's good to see some other people."  
The girl with pig-tails and the rifle squinted at him, as if trying to find meaning beyond face value. After a moment she relented.  
"Good morning to you too. And, likewise."  
Gerard felt a bit of the tension ease away.  
"My name's Gerard. This is Frank, Mikey, Ray, and Bob," he said, nodding to each of his friends in turn.  
"I'm Lindsey," the girl replied. Gerard realized she was the one who had done most of the talking last night. "This is Jamia," she said, nodding to the short girl. "Christa," the well-dressed girl. "And Alicia," the eyeliner girl.  
"It's nice to meet you," Gerard said gently.  
"I'd say likewise, but," Lindsey shrugged.  
"I understand."  
"Where are you from?" Lindsey asked.  
"Jersey," Gerard answered. "Bob's from Chicago."  
"Hmm. We're from California."  
"What brings you to Georgia?" Gerard asked.  
Lindsey barely glanced at the short girl, Jamia.  
"We were gonna check out Disney," Lindsey admitted.  
Frank cracked his first smile of the day and Lindsey jumped on him for it.  
"What? Why is that funny?" she demanded.  
"We just got back from there. It's fucking awesome," Frank grinned.  
Lindsey's shoulders dropped and she seemed to get less defensive.  
"What about you?" asked Jamia. "Why are you in Georgia?"  
Gerard and Frank both looked to Bob, who answered for them.  
"We're trying to find somewhere to settle."  
The girls looked surprised by that.  
"Like, for good?" Lindsey asked.  
"Yeah," said Bob.  
Lindsey glanced at Alicia, who raised her eyebrows back at the girl.  
"We were thinking about doing the same thing soon," Alicia told the boys.  
"Where were you thinking of staying?" Ray asked.  
"Florida, on the beach somewhere," admitted Alicia.  
"Hurricane season's almost here," Bob said.  
That seemed to hit the girls like a slap. Gerard realized that living on the west coast, they wouldn't have ever had to deal with hurricanes.  
"You should pick somewhere further inland," Gerard told them. "Floods are a bitch."  
"Thanks for the advice," Lindsey said, looking upset.  
"We're gonna have breakfast, but if you girls want to barter or something, maybe you could join us while we eat?" Ray said.  
Lindsey seemed to chew on her tongue for a second, her thumb stroking an inch of her rifle.  
"Sure."

They moved a little closer together to eat, closing the ten foot gap between them to around six feet.  
Jamia tossed over a few peaches they had found growing and Ray tossed her back some protein bars. They ate in silence until, surprisingly, Mikey spoke up.  
"I like your sword," he told Alicia.  
Her lips twitched into an almost smile. "Thanks."  
"Where'd you get it?"  
"I already had it."  
"Nice," Mikey grinned.  
"Where'd you get your guns?" Alicia asked.  
"New Hampshire," Mikey smirked. "In a Wal-Mart."  
"Sweet."  
Ray spoke up then, too.  
"How long have you all been traveling together?"  
Lindsey licked her lips and answered for the group.  
"We all went to the same private school. Before."  
Ray nodded. "We lived in the same town, then we met Bob about a year ago while we were driving."  
"What's Jersey like?" Christa asked.  
"Cold," Ray answered. "And crowded. Or, it was."  
"Same with California," Christa said. "Only hot."  
There were a few weak smiles around the group, then they fell silent again.

After breakfast they cautiously started trading. The girls, it seemed, were better at finding fresh food than the boys. Gerard and his friends, however, had scavenged in more towns and therefore had more first aid supplies and bathroom products, which the girls were sorely lacking.  
Ray was the one to bring up the seeds that Mikey had found. Christa said she knew a thing or two about gardening and offered to look at them.  
"Some of these are moldy," she announced. "And some others are just too old."  
"Fuck," Frank complained.  
"But," Christa continued, "you might be able to harvest from other people's gardens. Find a suburban neighborhood and check the backyards, you know? That's what we've been doing."  
"If you're going to have your own garden when you settle," said Alicia, "you can dig up the plants you find or dry the seeds from whatever you harvest."  
Ray and Bob exchanged a look.  
"Why didn't we think of that?" Frank asked rhetorically.  
Gerard caught Lindsey's smirk and realized she liked getting one over on them.  
"You have a lot of books," Jamia said, peering into one of the vans.  
"Mikey and Frank like to read," Gerard explained. "And Ray likes the How To books."  
"Yeah man," Frank laughed. "Gardening, survival, music, cooking, medical-"  
"Wait, you," Lindsey jumped. "Are you... can you fix up wounds?"  
Ray gave her an odd look. "I'm pretty good at it. I've gotten a lot of practice with Frank running around getting into trouble."  
"Jesus, _one time_ I jump out of a moving car and they never let me forget it," Frank complained with a smirk.  
"You also hit Gerard in the face with a firework, don't forget that one," Mikey added.  
Frank rolled his eyes but Lindsey wasn't laughing.  
"Can you stitch?"  
Ray nodded. "I've done it once before, why?"  
Lindsey gripped her traded first aid kit hard. "Jamia's hurt," she admitted.

They spread a blanket out on the highway and Jamia laid down. Lindsey held her hand while Christa and Ray rolled up her left pant leg.  
There was a thick bandaged wrapped around her calf and some blood had seeped through. Ray slowly unwound the bandage and Gerard had to turn away.  
"How long has this been like this?" Ray asked, serious.  
"A few days," Christa answered. "We were in the woods, finding plants to eat and um, we ran into a pack of dogs."  
Ray nodded. All the dogs that people had used to keep as pets had quickly gone wild and formed packs after it happened. The boys had run into their share of wild dogs too.  
"We cleaned it the best we could but we didn't have any first aid stuff, obviously," Christa blushed. "We kinda hoped it would just... heal up."  
"Okay, um." Ray seemed to be doing his best to not freak out in the face of such a serious wound. "Frank, get our good first aid kit. Bob can you find some antibiotics please?"  
They both headed back for the van. Gerard looked at Lindsey, where she was muttering to Jamia and smoothing her hair back. It sounded like reassurances.  
"Gerard," Ray said, "Can you help or do you wanna go?"  
Gerard fretted for a second, then sucked in a breath.  
"I can help."  
"Alright, come here."

A small pile of soiled gauze built up next to the blanket as Ray thoroughly cleaned the bite in Jamia's leg. Bob had given her a bottle of water and a small handful of painkillers and antibiotics then backed off. Frank and Mikey had gone back to the van with him and were talking in low voices to Alicia. Christa was holding up Jamia's pant leg and Lindsey was still comforting Jamia.  
Gerard poured hydrogen peroxide on the bite and winced when it foamed up. Ray waited a second then continued to wipe away at the exposed flesh. They kept it up for a while until Ray was satisfied. He took a bottle of water and repeated the process with that until it was empty.  
"Okay, I'm gonna stitch this so, uh, Gerard-"  
"Yeah, okay. I'll um, just. Go."  
He avoided Lindsey's stare as he walked back to the van, but clearly heard Ray mutter "scared of needles".  
"How is she?" Alicia demanded.  
"We cleaned it really good," Gerard said stupidly. His head was kind of spinny. "Ray's stitching her up now."  
Frank slipped a hand into Gerard's and squeezed.  
"You look freaked," Alicia said.  
"He doesn't like needles," Mikey answered.  
"Can one of you come help me for a moment?" Ray called over to them.  
Bob walked over and knelt beside Ray on the blanket.  
"Thank you guys for doing this, you know," Alicia muttered.  
"Don't worry about it," Frank said.  
Alicia nodded and a few moments later she walked over to the others. Mikey followed behind after a second.  
"You wanna lay down, Gee?" Frank asked. He reached up to touch Gerard's clammy forehead. "You don't look so good."  
"I think I just- fresh air for a bit then we can lay down."  
"Okay."  
Frank leaned forward onto his toes and pressed a kiss onto Gerard's lips. When he pulled back Gerard saw Lindsey watching them.  
"Lindsey's watching," Gerard muttered, embarrassed.  
Frank looked over his shoulder to see Lindsey staring them down.  
"So what? Wanna give her a show?" Frank chuckled.  
He pressed forward to kiss Gerard some more, and even though Gerard was blushing, he couldn't help kissing back.  
"Get a room!" Mikey called out a minute later.  
Frank flipped Mikey off but didn't stop until Gerard finally had to push him away. Frank giggled.  
"Can't wait 'til we have our own _bed_."  
"You fucking tease," Gerard groaned.  
"You wanna lie down now?" Frank asked suggestively.  
Gerard let Frank tug him into one of the vans to lay on the seats.  
"The No Groping rule extends to all three vehicles!" Bob yelled at them.  
They burst into laughter.

 

Lunch wasn't as tense as breakfast had been. They all sat together loosely, no longer divided into two groups. Jamia had her newly bandaged leg propped up on Lindsey's lap. Frank kept leaning close to Gerard to nip at his neck, which made Gerard blush and Mikey complain.  
"Frank, stop macking on my brother right in front of me, Jesus Christ."  
"Who taught you to say _macking on_?" Gerard asked. "Oh wait, never mind. No one I know besides Frank would ever say that. Frank stop teaching Mikey stupid shit."  
"Someone had to teach him about the birds and the bees, Gee," Frank grinned.  
Mikey turned a fierce shade of red.  
"Did you give my brother The Talk?" Gerard demanded.  
"No!" Mikey yelled.  
Bob and Ray couldn't help but start laughing then, and Frank joined in.  
"Like I would go to Frank to talk about it, he knows less than I do!" Mikey taunted.  
Frank spun to stare at him. "Was that a gay joke you little shit?!"  
Bob and Ray were in tears at this point, and Mikey got to join in on the laughter.  
"I'm gonna get you back for that, Mikes," Frank warned.  
Gerard blushed and looked at the girl's reactions. They were all giggling. He focused on restraining Frank, who was trying to leap on Mikey.  
"You're just jealous of my sweet ass!" Frank yelled. "I'll kiss you so hard you'll never look at girl again!"  
Everyone was collapsing all over each other, laughing until their stomachs hurt.

 

The two groups decided to spend another night on the same strip of highway, then part ways in the morning.  
Frank got handsy when they climbed under their blankets, and Gerard had to calm him down. They had a van to themselves but Gerard didn't want to fool around with so many people within earshot.  
"What's with you today, huh?" Gerard whispered.  
"Just want you, is all," Frank muttered.  
"You can have me, but let's wait til we have some actual alone time, yeah?"  
"You love me right?"  
"'Course I do, Frankie."  
"Nothing's gonna change that, right? It's always just you and me?"  
"Frankie, of _course_. What's going on?"  
"Nothing," Frank grouched.  
Gerard started to smirk. "Are you... getting all macho and territorial on me now that there's girls around?"  
"No!" Frank said, trying to sound offended but mostly just sounding petulant.  
"Oh my God, Frank. That is so adorable."  
"Shut up asshole," Frank muttered.  
"And so unnecessary. You're it for me, you loser."  
Frank grumbled something that Gerard didn't catch, but kissed him right after.  
Gerard chuckled. "I love you, Frankie."  
"I love you too," Frank answered, embarrassed.

 

In the middle of breakfast the next morning, Lindsey interrupted the few small conversations taking place and addressed Bob.  
"So," she said loudly. "We've been talking."  
Bob looked around at the guys. "Yeah, about?"  
"We don't think you guys will ever get a successful garden going."  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Bob said.  
"And there's some shit that we can't do," Lindsey pushed on, "that you guys can."  
"What are you saying?" Bob hedged.  
"We were thinking... it might be better if we all just stuck together," Lindsey announced.  
"You... wanna come live with us?"  
"There's safety in numbers and the more people, the less work for each individual. I just think that instead of splitting up again, it'd be smarter to form a larger group."  
"I..." Bob started. "I guess we'd have to talk about it."  
"Fine," Lindsey said, climbing to her feet and helping Jamia up. "Let us know what you decide."  
The four girls walked away then, leaving the five boys in stunned silence.  
"What just happened?" Bob eventually asked.  
"It's actually... kind of a good idea," Ray said. "She's right, there's stuff they can do that we can't, and vice versa."  
"The safety in numbers thing is clearly for their benefit though," Frank said. "They know we can protect them better than they've been defending themselves."  
"That's not really the point though," Ray said. "Do we want them to come with us? We've only known them a day."  
"I don't think they're a threat," Mikey said.  
Bob was rubbing his closed eyes with his hands.  
"Should we just... vote on it?" Ray asked.

It only took a few minutes for them each to grab a sheet of paper from one of Gerard's empty notebooks and scribble their answers down. They crunched the papers up and threw them in a bag, then Bob fished out each one and read the answers aloud.  
 **Yes** won unanimously. Gerard looked to Frank, surprised he had voted in favor of letting the girls come, but the boy just shrugged.  
"We made our decision!" Bob called to the girls.  
They gathered back around and Bob shuffled.  
"If you come with us that means we're trusting you with our lives."  
"We know," Lindsey said.  
"And that you're trusting us with your lives," Bob added.  
"We know that too."  
"We decide on things collectively, as a group, and we never go off on our own."  
"Got it."  
They all just stared at each other for a moment.  
"Alright then," Bob said. "Let's go house hunting."

 

They drove through the day, into small towns and up and down all the side streets. They covered a lot of ground, but didn't find anything that would work.

_September 30th, 2018  
We've joined up with some girls who were traveling together. They decided to come with us to find a home. Their names are Lindsey, Jamia, Christa, and Alicia. Lindsey acts as their leader, like Bob does for us. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, but hopefully it will.  
 ~~No surviv~~  
Four survivors spotted.  
-Gerard_

 

The next day they set out again, seeking out towns and searching through every street. It wasn't until late afternoon when Bob pulled his truck into the parking lot of a motel.  
The two vans and the girls' car pulled in behind him and they all piled out.  
"Wanna check it out?" Bob asked them. Everyone nodded.

_October 1st, 2018  
We found an abandoned motel. The water still works and there's a huge backyard that gets plenty of sun. There are ten rooms, plenty for all of us. We're going to sleep in the cars tonight, then start working on the motel tomorrow. It needs a little bit of fixing up, but there's a pool in the back.  
-Gerard_

_October 5th, 2018  
First night in the actual motel. Frank's pretty excited. We had to make a few runs to the closest town and into the nearest abandoned houses for a ton more supplies, like bug killer and plywood, but the motel is in pretty good shape now. Frank and I have a room to ourselves, and Jamia had Bob and Ray move a bed into Lindsey's room so they could stay close. After what Lindsey mentioned the night we met them and from observing Jamia, I can understand why she's scared of just about everything. Tomorrow we're going to start the garden.  
-Gerard_

_October 18th, 2018  
The garden is mostly planted now. If Christa and Alicia have super powers, they're probably finding abandoned gardens and getting things to blossom. Mikey's been looking at Alicia weird and I'm almost afraid to ask, but I guess I'm gonna have to bring it up sooner or later. Christa and Ray work well in the garden together. Lindsey and Bob have been working on a water filtration system, now that the rain is picking up.  
-Gerard_

_October 31st, 2018  
We celebrated Frank's 18th birthday today. Jamia and Lindsey surprised him with a dessert that I think was mostly just baked peaches and sugar, but it was still really good. The guys and I gave Frank the Harry Potter chess set we snuck out of Universal under his nose last month. He loved it, but now we have to learn how to play chess, so I guess that one backfired on us. Oh well, he had a great day, so it doesn't matter. He's also been making thinly veiled innuendos at me all night, so I guess we're not done celebrating.  
-Gerard_

_November 20th, 2018  
The weather's getting crazy and Ray thinks there's a hurricane coming. We've been working on securing the windows and the water filters on the roof all day. The garden is coming along great but I'm worried that the hurricane might ruin it.  
-Gerard_

_November 23rd, 2018  
The hurricane passed, and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. The corn is all fucked and one of the water filters tipped over, but everything else survived. We played a lot of chess and read a lot of books. I think Ray and Christa found something else to occupy their time, if the ridiculous grins on their faces are any indication.  
-Gerard_

_December 3rd, 2018  
We had some visitors today. A middle aged man, his teenaged daughter and six year old son. Jamia was freaked and hid until they left, but they didn't give us any trouble. We traded them fresh food for batteries and a few books. Frank and Mikey went to the closest town and cleaned out their library weeks ago, storing a few hundred books in the motel's main office, but somehow they still want more. Anyway, we traded and let them have lunch with us, then they were off on the road again. It was odd to see new faces.  
-Gerard_

_January 5th, 2019  
I caught Mikey sneaking out of Alicia's room and got kind of upset. I tried to talk to him about girls and responsibility, but apparently he already had a long chat with Bob and Ray about it. So, there's that. Alicia came out to find me and Mikey arguing and she pretty much put me in my place. Mikey's almost 16 anyway, and Alicia is only 17, so I guess I can't really stop them. Whatever.  
-Gerard_

_February 14th, 2019  
Frank totally caught Bob slipping out of Lindsey and Jamia's room this morning. He says it's "not like that" but he totally had hickeys so that's complete bull. Ray and Christa are apparently too busy to help in the garden today, so Frank, Bob and I took care of it. I haven't seen Mikey and Alicia either, and I'm trying to not think about that too much. Oh, Lindsey and Jamia finally came out of their room and they're giggling and now Bob's all flushed and Frank's making fun of him, so I better go step in before Bob knocks him out or something.  
-Gerard_

_April 12th, 2019  
Ray and Christa announced this morning that Christa's pregnant. I'm really happy for them. Alicia, Bob, Mikey and Lindsey are going scavenging soon to find baby stuff. I told Mikey to find condoms for himself and he hit me, so... Yeah.  
-Gerard_

_April 20th, 2019  
Frank officially has Baby Fever and will not shut up about Christa and Ray's kid. I think he's more excited than anyone, which is completely weird. I was worried that it meant he was regretting being with me, but apparently the main symptom of his Baby Fever is wanting to have sex with me.... All. The. Time. I mean, if he wants to coo over baby blankets and pacifiers with the girls all day and then spend all night with me, I guess I'm cool with it. Even if most of his dirty talk now consists of how great of a dad I would be or how much he wishes he could get me pregnant. I guess people get kind of weird about babies.  
-Gerard_

_June 5th, 2019  
The garden is really strong this summer. I'm actually pretty proud of it. We're thinking about getting enough water from the stream down the road to fill up the pool, but we're still working out logistics. Christa is starting to show and Ray's new project is building a cradle. They're disgustingly cute.  
-Gerard_

_July 2nd, 2019  
Had more visitors today. Three woman who were in college together, Before. They traded us a chicken for two nights at the motel. A actual chicken! Frank won't shut up about omelets and everyone's pretty excited. Bob's drawing up plans for a big outdoor cage as I write. Ray wants to scout out farms to see if we can find a pig, though I'm not really sure why.  
-Gerard_

_October 1st, 2019  
It's been one year since we found the motel, and it looks nothing like it did when we found it. It's our home now, and I couldn't love it more.  
-Gerard_

_January 26th, 2020  
The fucking baby came! I have never been more freaked out and scared and happy all at once in my entire life. Let me tell you, it was a LONG day. Only the girls and Ray were allowed in the room when she was in labor, but Frank and I could practically hear Christa screaming all the way down by the stream. Thank God I never have to go through that.  
-Gerard_

_February 1st, 2020  
Little Benjamin is doing great. He's seriously adorable and I totally get why Frank was so excited now. He has Christa's eyes and nose, I think, but he's definitely going to have Ray's hair. Christa is recovering really well and everyone's been pitching in to look after Ben.  
-Gerard_

_May 8th, 2021  
Baby Fever is upon us again. I'm going to be an uncle! Half of me is really, really happy and the other half is FREAKING OUT because Mikey's only seventeen. I guess teen pregnancies aren't really that big of a deal now anyway, right? I'm not allowed near Alicia until I chill out because apparently stressing out a pregnant woman is a big no-no. Mikey and Bob sent me and Frank to work in the garden with Ben. He's big enough to get into trouble now, but Frank is really good at keeping an eye on him. Frank's excited about being an uncle and I told him it doesn't really work that way but he threw a clump of weeds at me and told me to shut up, so I guess he can be an uncle too.  
-Gerard_

_January 10th, 2021  
Susie came a little early, but her and Alicia are doing great. I've never seen Mikey look so fucking happy before and I'm so damn proud of him. Benjamin thinks the baby is an early birthday present for him, which is pretty adorable. He's actually getting a rocking horse that Bob and Ray have been working on for weeks now.  
-Gerard_

_March 1st, 2021  
Frank is the best not-dad ever. He's amazing with the kids and offers to babysit whenever Ray and Christa or Mikey and Alicia need a night to themselves. I apparently have two left hands with it comes to handling babies, but Frank's got it under control. I can't explain how much I love watching him coo at Susie or read books to Ben. He's just amazing. I'm waiting for the day when Bob announces that Lindsey or Jamia is pregnant, since he stays in their room almost every night, but it hasn't happened yet. I think Ray and Christa are working on Baby #2, but who knows what the future holds?  
-Gerard_


End file.
